Review – The Senior Adviser

Sanele Skosana

There are plenty of people today who believe that Secret Services or Spies  are only based in movies or that Pirates and Shipwreck stories are all made up for entertainment sake.

I for one did, but for the past month of reading this book, different channels of my mind have been opened to endless views and perceptions of the 1940’s era.

The Belen, an old Spanish Cargo ship which was believed to have sunk off the island of Eulethera in the year 1945, unravelled unfound histories of which the crew and passengers of the Nereid(yacht) did not anticipate upon embarking on this greatly planned expedition. See, at first a group of high profile elites set out to sea aboard this luxurious yacht, with the purpose of hopefully finding great treasures, which may have been buried through the many pirate ship wrecks that may have occurred during the 1940’s. Little did they know that embarking on this journey had many hidden surprises in-store.

Captain John Fletcher, who was appointed aboard the Nereid as a safety and security officer, is not only responsible for making sure all passengers on the yacht are accounted for at all times and that any threats suspected were dealt with accordingly beforehand, but is also employed by the MI-6(secret service) to conduct specific investigations throughout the cruise. Despite his job title aboard the cruise, Captain Fletcher also had his own suspicions of what really could be the reason for this expedition, due to some hostility he experienced from certain passengers of the cruise.

Throughout the book, the great sea expedition did not only prove to be a dangerous venture due to many potential terrorists threats between countries that the Nereid was travelling to but how adultery was such a simple act to those who could not stay faithful or obey their vows. Yes, many nights offshore or even aboard the Nereid ended in very sultry and secretive relations between the passengers of the yacht.

Edmund-George King, Author of The Senior Adviser and an International Economist has managed to capture the core essence of what one could believe really occurs within the Political and Military world, even to date. Being so well travelled around the world, Edmund was able to use his experience and knowledge from his travels to paint a clear picture of the many islands that passengers of the luxury yacht spent wining and dining on, to the crisp blue oceans on which the Nereid sailed across, to even the hot hunting plains of South Africa.

So what is the truth? Was that era governed by The International Consultancy? Were spies despatched on false identities to gather information and feedback to a supposed Senior Adviser, who gave orders to kill should a threat arise. The passengers of the Nereid trusted each other and vowed not to share any information with any outsiders, not knowing that there were already spies amongst them. Every new day aboard the ship unravelled shocking truths that at first may have been confusing, but the pieces of the puzzle pieced together slowly. Trust played a major role in this novel, as even the Secret Service itself proved to have leaks and pre-planned deception itself.

While I definitely recommend this book to other readers, I would recommend it mainly to the older or more mature readers because it would resonate with them better. Even though the writing is tame enough for a younger generation to understand, the characters and scenarios in the book are of adulthood and based on an era that mainly a mature crowd would be interested in reading about.

The Senior Adviser should be essential reading for aspiring writers as this was Edmund-George Kings first book. This book is a definite treat for lovers of historical fiction and romance.

Edmund-George King has proved to be an exceptional writer and with the right publicity, The Senior Adviser is a book that should never become obsolete.

Rate 8/10